By Tim Goeglein
Sixty years ago, there were no culture wars as we know them today. America had a moral consensus, while not followed by everyone, still laid a foundation for civil behavior towards each other. People may have disagreed with each other, but regardless of their differences, tolerated each other’s views – whether they be religious, political, or choice of sports teams.
Then something happened. The 1960s arrived.
In his new book, Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned in a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive The American Dream (www.faithfultext.com), I chronicle how the 1960s were just the culmination of efforts by radical progressives such as John Dewey, Roger Baldwin, Margaret Sanger, and President Woodrow Wilson, that started at the very turn of the 20th century to impose the utopian visions on our society.
For instance, John Dewey, now seen as the founder of America’s public schools, saw education as a tool to shape young minds to accept progressive dogma as truth.
Roger Baldwin, the founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), boldly proclaimed in his Harvard anniversary class book that he sought “social ownership of all property, the abolition of the propertied class, and sole control of those who produce wealth.” He concluded, “Communism is the goal.”
Woodrow Wilson would greatly expand the scope of the federal government, putting in motion the efforts to turn it into a national nanny on a perpetual spending binge.
Wilson was, in particular, a pivotal figure. He was a classic Utopian – wanting to create what he believed would be a near-perfect society. A former president of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey, he coveted becoming president so he could do just that.
It was the efforts of Wilson and these other progressives that laid the groundwork for the radicals of the 1960s who gathered together and produced what became known as the “Port Huron Statement,” calling for sexual revolution, the advancement of radical feminism, and the rejection of the role of religious faith and the authority of the church in American society.
It would also lead other radicals such as Saul Alinsky and his “Rules for Radicals,” Alfred Kinsey, and Masters and Johnson, to impose their own economic and sexual agendas on America.
The progressives of the early 20th century laid the foundation for what I would call the Second American Revolution of the 1960s which totally transformed American life, and their “revolution” haunts us to this day.
But there is a way we return America to the moral road upon which it was founded – a nation that honors and respects faith, freedom, and family. That is what I hope my new book accomplishes as I lay out the blueprint for how we got here and how we can get back on such a course.
Tim Goeglein is Vice President of Focus on the Family, which is a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families thrive, providing help and resources for couples to build healthy family and community relationships.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.